Hyatt Diamond Challenge

Last week, I wrote a couple of posts about status (M Life and Hertz). There was some good feedback from some of you, while others made it clear they had no interest at all. Let me be blunt here…

If you are into points but ignore free status opportunities, you are either (1) New to this, (2) Lazy, or (3) Not very smart. If you stay in hotels at all, top-level status can COMPLETELY change your experience at that chain. That’s all I have to say about that. On to my intro of Hyatt’s Diamond Challenge…

  • With Hyatt, your status is either Gold, Platinum, or Diamond. 
  • Gold sucks, Platinum is half-decent, and Diamond is spectacular.
  • Some jaded Hyatt people will disagree with the word “spectacular.” They are wrong.
  • Diamond status includes upgrades when available, late checkout, free internet, lounge access/breakfast, a 30% point bonus, and 4 confirmed suite upgrades per year.

The suite upgrades ensure that you can turn paid stays into suite stays 4 times a year. You don’t have to show up on the day of your vacation and depend on “luck.”
  • Since it’s a status match, you need “approved” existing status to do the Hyatt Diamond challenge.
  • The easiest options for most people are Hilton Gold or Marriott Gold (both of which you can get through credit cards).
  • Ask for the challenge by emailing goldpassport@hyatt.com and saying you want their Diamond Trial Offer. 
  • Give them the proof of existing status and 1 stay in the last 12 months when they ask for it.
  • Usually within a couple days, it’s done! Just like that, you have Diamond status for 60 days. 
  • If you want to extend the status, you need 12 stays in the next 60 days.

For some of you, those 12 stays are never going to happen. So the best time to do this challenge would obviously be before an upcoming Hyatt stay somewhere nice. You’ll get the goodies above and a great shot at an upgrade. In addition, you get those 4 suite upgrades that you can use down the road (they’ll last 6 months). 
One last tip…ideally, you’ll apply for the Hyatt card right after you get approved for Diamond status. If so, your 2 free credit card nights improve into 2 free suite nights. Big difference. And just another Diamond benefit!

American Airlines Card

A week ago, I posted a link for the non-advertised 50,000-mile American Airlines card. The next morning, my mom asked me for a proper offer with a landing page. She had a bad experience collecting the bonus last year from one of these secret, straight-to-application links and wanted a standard offer page. Well, she randomly got one emailed to her over the weekend and the link is here. As always, American Airlines miles are some of the best around and should be pursued the way a fat kid chases an ice cream truck.

(Sorry mom. That was uncalled for. And sorry to any fat kids who love miles they same way they love cake.)

Big Win Promotion

IHG’s Big Win is one of the best hotel promos of 2013. Offers vary, but you should be able to rack up a lot of points with a few stays. Click the link and sign in to see what your personal offer is.

Current Contests

Some love these, some don’t. I don’t post them often, but here you go:

Thursday’s Deals

  • Register for Starwood’s Take Two promo.
  • Get paid $100,000 to travel and talk about it for a year.
  • If paying for a Marriott, get up to 12,000 Southwest points for buying Marriott gift cards.
  • If you have somehow still not signed up for Uber, get a $25 credit for $5. New members. 
  • Seems like a lot of you have the Hyatt card and liked my status post from yesterday. Here’s another one you may have missed. If you have the Amex Platinum card, make sure you call and get your Starwood Gold, National Executive, and Avis Preferred status. Then, once you have National Executive, do a status match to get upgraded to Hertz Five Star.